Thanks Amanda, these recent figures on the challenges being faced by infrastructure organisations are interesting...and alarming!
If we want civil society to be bigger and stronger than ever before then the role of infrastructure in developing, connecting and representing the sector is vital. My fear is that infrastructure gets 'lumped in' with government bureaucracy and the fact that many infrastructure organisations have grown organically from the sector to support it is not recognised. I recently wrote a short piece about the infrastructure's potentially huge contribution to the government's Big Society agenda.
Unfortunately, infrastructure organisations have sometimes struggled to demonstrate the difference they make. Despite having national programmes of funding, there is no national picture of value. This does not mean that there is no value in the work but just that being a step, or sometimes two, from the impact 'on the ground' means that it is harder to evidence and really understand.
Over the past year we've been working with a wide range of infrastructure organisations (through the Value of Infrastructure Programme) to develop a shared picture of the intended impact of infrastructure and tools to evidence this. Having a shared approach means that infrastructure organisations can compare information on what works to achieve the biggest impact.
The figures in your recent report are very useful as they contribute to a picture of need for (and threat to) infrastructure support. We hope that in pulling together evidence of need, information on impact and new knowledge of 'what works', then in future we can build a national case for the value of infrastructure.
Georgina
Thanks Amanda, these recent figures on the challenges being faced by infrastructure organisations are interesting...and alarming!
If we want civil society to be bigger and stronger than ever before then the role of infrastructure in developing, connecting and representing the sector is vital. My fear is that infrastructure gets 'lumped in' with government bureaucracy and the fact that many infrastructure organisations have grown organically from the sector to support it is not recognised. I recently wrote a short piece about the infrastructure's potentially huge contribution to the government's Big Society agenda.
Unfortunately, infrastructure organisations have sometimes struggled to demonstrate the difference they make. Despite having national programmes of funding, there is no national picture of value. This does not mean that there is no value in the work but just that being a step, or sometimes two, from the impact 'on the ground' means that it is harder to evidence and really understand.
Over the past year we've been working with a wide range of infrastructure organisations (through the Value of Infrastructure Programme) to develop a shared picture of the intended impact of infrastructure and tools to evidence this. Having a shared approach means that infrastructure organisations can compare information on what works to achieve the biggest impact.
The figures in your recent report are very useful as they contribute to a picture of need for (and threat to) infrastructure support. We hope that in pulling together evidence of need, information on impact and new knowledge of 'what works', then in future we can build a national case for the value of infrastructure.